GameBulbGame development in a nutshell

Admit it, you have once wanted to develop a game that you didn't know how to develop, and then the time you decide to start development , you start staring at your computer screen trying hard to find a way out to get your game logic to work...

Obviously your biggest problem here is programming, because your game will still work with bad art but can't work if you couldn't write the right code for it. At some point if you are a solo game developer you must sharpen your programming and logical skills.

As an example, from my personal experience, when I was 13, I always wanted to create my own version of the famous tic tac toe game but I couldn't because I didn't know how it works and how should I approach it through programming. I couldn't do it until I was 15. There are three factors that helped me to be able to develop more games. I went from simple games to intermediate games and I'm thriving for being able to develop complex games such as Candy Crush like game.

Here I list you the top 3 factors that will make you able to develop any game that you thought you wouldn't ever develop

1. Solving Programming Challenges

Believe it or not, solving programming challenges will hone your logical skills. Most programming challenges are not game-related but they can be used in game development when needed. There are also fun programming games where the game is about solving programming challenges/puzzles that will definitely help you get more interested in solving them. Below A list of programming challenges/games websites that I have visited that will definitely improve your skills:

There are many more websites if you want to visit but these are the websites that I most enjoyed and helped me become a better programmer.

2. Keep Practicing

​ How many times have you tried to make your infinite runner keep scrolling, or tried to make your catapult game physics work just right? The key to everything is practicing. You need to practice programming games, try make a prototype of your game that you want and start creating the logic. Even though it will not work from the first try but after some tries you will be able to make it right. You must note that tutorials can also help you practice your programming skills because it teaches you how to make it on your own, but never download a source or a project without a tutorial because you will learn nothing and even possibly not being able to edit the code. At the end, the best way to practice is learning from your own mistakes.

3. Learn programming-related subjects

​ Programming is not about typing on the keyboard, programming does include many subjects that will help you become a better thinker thus a better programmer. In programming you will need to have basic knowledge of math and physics which will help you build strong foundation in arrays, data structure, manipulating data and creating complex physics and mathematical algorithm.The relation between game development and programming is strong, so you will have many advantages of you have a strong foundation in programming:

Spend less time on thinking and speed up development

Less vulnerable to errors

More complexity in game

Better optimization of code

Do you think there is other factors that helps in creating any game? Let me know in a comment !